Mining machine



Feb. 20, 1940. J. F. JQY 2,190,924

MINING MACHINE Original Filed Aug. 11, 1933 4 sheets -sheei 1 J.- 'F. JOY

MINING MACHINE V Feb. 20, 1940.

Original Filed Aug. 11, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 20, 19 40. ,1, JOY 2,190,924

MINING MACHINE Original Filed Aug. 11, 1933 4' Sheets-Sheet 4.

1 91 fiaveni' ar: L Z3 JatyofiEJZy.

Q9 v +24 2 1 A' ibly fed, floor cutter type;

section of the transmission Patented Feb. 20, 1940 e ign ivnnino MACHINE g 'Jo seph F. Joy, Claremont, N. H., assignor to Sullivan Machinery Company, corporation of Massachusetts Chicago, 111., a

OriginaIappIication August 11, 1933, SerialNo. 68%,.707, Divided. and this application March 11, 1936, Serial No. 6 8,2 69 r r 5 Claims; (oi; run-28x51 in This invention relates to mining machines, and i more particularly to improvements in the feeding mechanism of a coal mining machine of the flex- An objector this invention is to Another object is to provideanimproved feeding mechanism for a coal mining machine "of the M flexibly fed, floor cutter type wherein relatively rotatable feed Operating and controlling mem hers respectively engaging flexible feeding'and, controlling elements, are employed for feeding and guiding the machine; Still another object is to provide, in a feeding mechanism of the 1 above character, improved driving means for the feed operating and controlling members whereby thelatter may be driven in winding direction at either high or low speeds; A further object is to provide an improved driving mechanism for feed operating and controlling members whereby the latter maybe independently driven through separate plural speed transmission:

mechanisms, each transmissionmechanismemhodying high and low speed gear trains and a l friction controlling clutch for each gearl train. Other objects and advantages of the invention will, however, hereinafter morefully appear in the course of the following description and as more particularly pointed out in the appended claims; a

This application is division of my copending application Serial No. 684,707, filed August 11, 1933, now maturedinto Patent No. aoeaesv, patented December 1, 1936.

In the accompanying drawingsthereis shown for-purposes of illustration one form which the invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings i Fig.1 is a plan View of a coal mining machine 3; embodying one illustrative form of the inven-e tion, shown cutting a horizontal kerf at thefioor level r i Fig, 2 is an enlarged horizontal'sectional view showing the driving connections from. the motor through the speed changing mechanism to the feed operating and controlling membersth'e ViiW takensubstantially on line of 4. i Fig, 3 is an enlarged plan view of the rearward portion of the machine showing details of the 50 feeding drums and guiding sheaves.

Fig, i is an end elevational idewpartially in assembly with the feeding drums removed.

Fig. 5 is a view in longitudinal vertical section taken substantially on lines 5-5 of FigsHZ and 4.

provide an mproved mining machine feeding mechanism.

Fig. 6 isan end elevational View, partly in section, of the machine as a whole showing the feed operating and controlling members.

.*Eig."- is a vieW'in longitudinal vertical section taken substantially on lines l--l of Figs. 2 and 3 "Fig." 8 is a central vertical section through a feeddrum, showing its engaging anddisengaging mechanism. taken substantially on line 88 of In this illustrative embodiment of the invention, the improved feeding mechanism is shown embodiedin a coal mining machineof the flex-r ibly fed, roonandpillar, floor cutter typegen-i erally comprising a bottom skid plate i having a plane bottom surface and adapted to 'restupon and slide in any direction over the mine floor. Supported'onthe bottom skid plate l is a main base 3 in turn supporting at its forward end kerf 1 cutting mechanism generally designated (The kerf cutting mechanism-comprises an elongated plane cutter bar having mounted for circulationgabout its margin an endless cutter chain Mounted on the mainbase dis a motor l'hav ing itspower shaft l' horizontally disposed and extending longitudinally of the machine, and the cutter chain 6 of the kerf cutting mechanism is l driven hythe motor I in the manner clearly de-' scribed in the copending application vser. No. 6841707 above referred to, i

Arranged in parallel relation at the rear end of the mainhase 3 on horizontal axeslextending longitudinally of themachine in the same transverse zone, are 1 feed operating and controlling members 8 and 9 respectively"cooperating with flexible feeding and controlling elements iii and l i; the members 8 and 9 are here- 1 drums. i i a r,

Now referring to, the improved driving, connections between the motor '5 andxthecable Winding drums hand 9, it will be noted that keyed to the rear end of ;the motor powershait is a *spur motor pinion l2 meshing with a large spur gear l3; keyed to a stub shaft M. y The stub shaft] M- is mounted'in anti-friction bearings i5 and M5, the former surroundingthe hub ofgthe gear it on the stub shaft I 4!, the latter surrounding the stub Shea Ml itself. Thestubshaft M tear inmates in a pinion ll integrally securedthereto, and this pinion ll in turn meshes with and communicates power to agear l3 rigidly securedto a countershaft 59 which in turn is journaled at' its opposite ends in anti-friction bearings 20 and v sectionalong the line 9 a of Fig. 1, showing details of oneofthe guiding sheaves.

a in in the form of cable winding or haulage oil sp li'nedto the shaft 26. Y p The shift sleeve 40 also carries at its other allel to the shaft IS. The shaft 26 is' journaled at one end in an anti-friction bearing 21 mounted in the gear housing 23, and atits other endin. "an anti-friction bearing 28 mounted in the end .plate 24. p Y p The gear 25 is keyed to the outer rotor 29 of a multiple discclutch, and the outer rotor 29 is.

separated from the shaft 26 by anti-friction bearing's 39- and 3 I.

gages a plurality of plates 32 of themultiple disc clutch, the remainder of the plates3 3 being keyed to the shaft 25. The platesare forced into. contactbythe action of push rods 3501i an annularv pressure plate 36 against the action of the springs 31. The opposite ends ofsthejpush rods are threaded into a shift plate 38 separated by the bushing 39 from the shift sleet/e 40 which is end, clutching mechanism identical in constructionwith' the clutching mechanism just described.

The clutching mechanism consists of abushing 4! on which is supported theshift plate 42 into i which is threadedthe push rods-43 making contactwith an annular shift plate 44'against the action of springs 45. "I'l'iepush rods 43 pass through the end plate 46 of the outer rotor 4'! ofp r a multiple disc-clutch and force the clutch plates 48v drivingly connected tothe outer rotor 4'l into' contact with the clutch plates .49 drivingly connectedwith the inner rotor 59 of the multiple disc clutch- The inner rotor-50 is keyed to the shaft 26, whereas the outer rotor 4! is separated therefrom by anti-friction bearings 5!.

Sure rounding the outer rotor ll-and keyed to it is the 5 gear 52 (Fig. 5) which mesheswith a pinion 53 vertical shaft 64 passingthrougha cover plate on. the counter-shaft IS, the counter-shaft I 9 terminating at .its end opposite from the bearing 25, in the pinion 53 (Fig. 7)'. r

Surrounding the shiftsleeve 40 at its mid-point is theanti-friction bearing li lengageclbythe yokeportion 55 of the clutchshift rod 56. The

Y clutch shift rod 55 is reciprocable longitudinally byits having at one end 'a slo'tfil engaging a cap screw 58 threaded through the housings '23,.

whereas its other end is'provided' with a right angle portion 59 having a bore 60 sli'dingly en-- gaginga stud bolt 5] threaded through the hous-- ing"23. Operatively engaging abore 62 in the clutch shift rod 56 is the crank portion 63 of a in the gear housing 23. At its upper end the ver-' 7 tical shaft 54 is provided'with a tapered portion, 53 whichengages a correspondingly tapered portion of ahand levers? keyed thereto and held in,

place bye nut 63'screwed ontothe threaded end 59 of thevertical shaft 54. The upper portion of the vertical shaft 54 passes through brackets l0 and H attached to the main base above the"; 1 gear housings 23, and'these brackets support-the 26 in place (Fig. 5). The outerend -of the shaft 26 passes through an end plate 'l5se c'uredto the The outer rotorldrivingly enshaft 26. l

. On the opposite side of the gear housing is a second set of clutches and gearing substantially identical in construction to the clutch-andgear assembly just described; the entire assembly is shown in plan viewfin Fig. 2, which traces the complete power circuit from themotor 1 and its pinion l2 through the various'clutches and gearing to the cable winding drums Rand 9, described later. The second clutch-and-gear assembly on the shaft 8| (Fig. 4); has keyed to it a gear 82 (Fig. 2), which meshes with the gear 22 on the counter shaft l9. A gear 83 (Fig. 2), on the other end of the shaft 8| meshes with the pinion 53 and corresponds to the gear 52 on the shaft 25. Since the second set of .clutches and gearing on the shaft 8! isof substantially identical construction 'andbpe'r'atesin a similar manner, further de-' scriptionis unnecessary. The outer end of the shafts! terminatesin a winding drumpinion 84 analogous to the winding drum pinion 8 0 on the shaft 25- The clutches 85, 86 (Fig. 2) are operated by the clutch shift rod 81 engaging the antifriction; bearing 88, the clutch shift rod 31 being operated by thevertical crank shaft 89 connected to the hand lever 90 in a manner similar to that of 'the'hand lever .67 controlling the first set of clutches and gearing previously described.

I The gearing and clutch assemblies just described serveas change-speed mechanism to provide. two different speeds for the winding drum pinionsBB, 84. When the hand lever 61 is moved to one side (Fig. 5) in such a manner that the clutch shift rod 56 is moved backward. the yoke portion 55 thereof likewise moves backward, carrying with it theshift plate 38 which actuates the pushrods 35 to. press together the plates 32 and 33 of the rearward multiple disc clutch; under direction, the clutch shift rod 55 moves forward, carrying with it the clutch shift plate 42 which actuates the push rods 43 to' compress the plates 48' and 49 of the forward multiple disc clutch,

\therebyrotatably. connectingthe large gear 52 with the shaft 25, thus imparting a slower speed to the winding drum pinion 80, since the large gear 52 is now driven by the small pinion 53 on thecounter-shaft I9. In Fig. 5, the mechanism is in. aneutral state, neither clutch being compressed The hand lever 90 actuates the'right hand clutch assembly on the shaft iii in a similar This clutch mechanism is enclosed in an oil-tight dust-proof case and has enough discs to permit slippage under load indefinitely, thus providing not only for high and low speeds, but also for intermediate speeds when the clutches are but partially compressed. The cutting speeds may thus be adjusted according to the hardness of the material being cut. Meshing with the winding drum Mare gears 9|, 92 (Figs; 2 and 8) secured to the similarly constructed winding. drums B and 9, as by bolts 93.

. The winding 3 is rotatablyinountedon.

l0 pinions 8i] and I42 on the threaded end of which is a nut I 43 the flanged winding drum sleeve 94 (Figure 8) slidably secured to the winding drum shaft 95 as by a keysfi. The flanged winding drum sleeve 94 has a collar ill which retainsthe winding drum 8 in position on the winding drum sleeve 94. The collar 9'I is held in place by the set screw 98 and lock nut 99 (Fig. 8), while between it and the winding drum 8 is the annular plate Itlil, compressed by the spring Iiil to overcome entanglement of the cables it and II due to recoil when the drums are disengaged.

The shaft 95 is journaled in a bore I I32 in a boss I03 on the main base. This boss 583 also supports the winding drum gear housing IM bolted thereto by the angle member M35. Enten. ing into the forward end of the winding drum sleeve 95 are the cap screws fill (Figs. 2 and which are engaged by links. 588 attached at their opposite ends by cap screws It?! to an eccentric yoke member I It. The yoke member I It? is supported on a wrist pin III which passes through the end of the winding drum shaft the eccentric yoke member IlIl being actuated by a hand lever Iii. Carried by the winding drum .8 is the cable In which at its inner end passes through the inner side flange of the winding drum 8 and is anchored thereto by the anchor block lid held in position by the bolts I I 5.

The winding drum shaft 95 immediately back of the winding drum sleeve 9 1 has an enlarged portion IIG which abuts against the inner end of the winding drum sleeve 94 and also the outer end of the boss I vVhen the hand lever H2 (Fig.

8) is pulled downward into a horizontal positi 1, 35

the winding drumshaft 95 is pulled backs rds by the eccentric leverage of the eccentric yoke member lIIl acting through the links Hi3 on the cap screws IIi'I, thereby also pulling backward the winding drum 8 and disengaging the winding drum gear IlI from the winding drum 86. In this way the winding drums may be made to operate as loose pulleys and to out the cables H], I I without causing the gearing mechanism to rotate. The right hand winding drum 9 is like wise engaged or disengaged from its winding drlmi pinion 84 by operating the hand lever I i'. in the manner previously described for the correspond. his hand lever M2 on the left hand winding drum 8.

Cooperating with the winding drums ii and are vertical sheaves Hi5 and I is 7) serving to guide the cable It of the winding drum. i the corresponding cable II on winding drum 9. The sheaves H8 and H9 are rotatably mounted on the anti-friction bearings I253 and IN inwardly supported upon the bushing I22 which is held in position between the sheave supports I23 and I24 by the bolt I25 secured to base plate I26 mounted on the main base i by the bolts I21 (Fig. 6). A bolt I263 also cooperates with the bolt I25 to hold together the sheave supports I23 and IM in spaced relationshipwith the aid of spacers I29, 30 and the partition iii.

The cables coming from the winding drums "8 and B are additionally guided by horizontal (Fig. 9).

The general mode of operation of the improved to the truck, starting the motor by shifting the hand lever (Fig. 1) of the motor controller and causing either of the winding drums 8 or 8 to be put into operation by moving the hand levers $1 or 98 respectively. Similarly, the machine may be moved ofi the truck by booking the ends of the cables Ill, l I to anchor jacks, operating the winding drums and pulling the machine toward the anchor jacks. In each case the cables are guided by the sheaves H8 and H9, also by such of the sheaves i3 5, I35, I33, I32, I39 and I38 as may be most convenient in the particular instance.

In bringing the machine up to the face of the coal bank in the mine chamber, the cables Ill and H are extended to suitable anchor jacks located near the coal face, and as the cables are wound in by the drums, the machine is slid over the mine floor toward the coal face. The cables are also employed for moving the machine bodily in an endwise direction to sump the cutter bar beneat the coal bank. With the sumping cut completed, assuming that a horizontal out has been made as in Fig. l, the horizontal kerf may now be completed by the winding drums t and s, the cables I 9 and II therefrom being attached to anchor jacks located at a distance, and guided by the sheaves 536 and IE9 (Fig. 1). By moving the hand levers bl, 9t, either of the winding drums may be Set in motion at any of the speeds provided by the transmission gearing or slipping clutches. The winding drum. I? in the cable M, while theother winding drum it pays out the cable Ill. versely across the coal face, and thereafter the cutter bar is withdrawn from beneath the coal by moving the machine bodily rearwardly away from the coal face by means of the cables and drums. The drums 8 and 9 may be rotated at a relatively high speed for moving the machine rapidly over the mine floor, thereby. to facilitate maneuvering of the machine. Other uses and advantages of the improved feeding mechanism will be clearly apparent to those skilled in the art. v i

While there is in this application specifically described on form which the invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this latter bodily over the mine floor and for controlling the angular position of the machine with respect to the coal face including relatively rotatable feed operating and controlling members adapted to cooperate respectively with flexible feeding and controlling means, and motor operated means for said feeding and controlling memhers for independently rotating the latter at The machine may then be fed trans either a high or a low speed including a motor shaft, a horizontal shaft extending longitudinally of the machine and driven by said motor shaft,

a separate plural speed transmission mechanism 5 for each member through which it, but not the other memben is driven, said transmission mechanisms including fast and slow speed gears driven by said second mentioned shaft and spaced longitudinally of the latter, parallel shafts, one individual to each transmission mechanism, ar-

ranged with their axes parallel to a line parallel with said second mentioned shaft and operatively connected to said members respectively, fast and slow speed terminal gears coaxial with said third 155 and fourth mentioned parallel shafts respectively and driven by said first mentioned fast and slow speed gears, and clutches for selectively connecting said terminal gears to said third and fourth mentioned parallel shafts.

2. In a mining machine, flexible feeding'and guiding means for the ma hine for moving the latter bodily over the mine floor and for controlling the angular position of the machine with respect to the coal face including relatively rogg tatable feed operating and controlling members adaptedtocooperate respectively with flexible feeding and controlling meanaand motor operated transmission means for said feeding and controllingmembers for independently rotating the latter at either a high. or a low speed including a motor shaft horizontally disposed and extending longitudinally of the machine, a shaft parallel with said motor shaft and arranged with its axis lying in the longitudinal vertical center of the machine, said parallel shaft driven by said motor shaft, parallel shafts, one individual to the transmission means for each of said members arranged with their axes spaced edui-distantly from the longitudinal vertical center of the macrating and controlling members respectively,

said third and fourth mentioned parallel shafts tilrespectively and driven by said first mentioned fast and slow speed gears, and clutches for connecting said last mentioned fast and slow speed gears to said third and fourth mentioned parallel mlshafts.

guiding means for the machine for moving the latter bodily over. the mine floor and for controlling the angular position of the machine with respect to the coal face including relatively rotatms". able feed operating and controlling members adapted to cooperate respectively with flexible feeding and controlling means, motor operated means for said feeding and controlling members for independently rotating the latter at ieither a high or a low speed including a motor shaft horizontally disposed and extending iongitudinally of the machine, a pair of parallel shafts arranged with their axes parallel with the motor shaft axis, said parallel shafts operatively congi-lnected to said feed operating and controlling members respectively, a fourth shaft parallel with said motor power shaft and driven by the latter, high and low speed terminal gears arranged cochine and operatively connected to said feed opi 3. In a mining machine, flexible feeding and axially with said second and third mentioned parallel shafts respectively, clutches for connecting said terminal gears in driving relation with said second and third mentioned parallel shafts,

driving connections between said motor shaft and said high speed terminal gears, and driving connections between said fourth mentioned shaft and said low speed terminal gears.

4. In a mining machine, flexible feeding and guiding means for the machine for moving the latter bodily over the mine floor and for controlling the angular position of the machine with respect to the coal face including relatively rotatable feed operating and controlling members adapted to cooperate respectively with flexible feeding and controlling means, and motor operated means for said feeding and controlling members for independently rotating the latter at either a high or a low speed including a separate plural speed transmission means for each member through which it, but not the other member, is driven, each transmission means including coaxial fast and slow speed spur terminal gears, each transmission means including a shaft coaxial with the fast and slow speed terminal gears thereof and operatively connected to the member driven thereby and clutches for selectively connecting said terminal gears to their shaft, the shafts of said transmission means arranged on parallel horizontal axes, a third shaft parallel with said parallel shafts and-arranged therebe tween, and spur gears fixed to said last mentioned shaft in longitudinally spaced relation thereon and meshing with said fast and slow speed spur terminal gears of both transmission tatable feed operating and controlling members adapted to cooperate respectively with flexible feeding and controlling means, and motor operated means for said feeding and controlling members for independently rotating the latter at either a high or a low speed includ ng a motor shaft, a horizontal shaft extending longitudinally of the machine, intermeshing reduction gearing connecting said horizontal shaft to motor shaft, a separate plural speed transmission mechanism for each member through which it, but not the other member, is driven, said transmission mechanisms including fast and slow speed gears driven by said horizontal shaft and spaced longitudinally of the latter, parallel shafts, one individual to each transmission mechanism, arranged with their axes parallel to a line parallel With said horizontal shaft, fast and slow speed terminal gears coaxial with said third and fourth mentioned parallel shafts respectively and driven,

by said first mentioned. fast and slow speed gears respectively, clutches for selectively connecting said terminal gears to said third and fourth mentioned parallel shafts, and ntermeshing reduc tion gearings connecting said third and fourth mentioned parallel shafts to said members respectively.

JOSEPH F. JOY.

respect to the coal face including relatively ro-- 

